COACh Career Development Workshops for Science and Engineering Faculty: Views of the Career Impact on Women Chemists and Chemical Engineers

Several recent publications have highlighted the importance of recruiting a diverse workforce to science and technological fields. The recent National Academies report entitled Rising Above The Gathering Storm argued that the leadership role that the United States has historically played in science and technology is eroding owing to the increased globalization of the past decade. To compete with emerging economies that have an advantage of a low-wage structure, the authors argue that the United States must optimize its knowledge-based resources. This climate requires that " we make the United States the most attractive setting in which to study and perform research so that we can develop, recruit, and retain the best and brightest students, scientists, and engineers within the United States and throughout the world " (1). An equally influential report from the National Science and Technology Council's Committee on Science also emphasizes the critical role that a strong science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce plays in sustaining and driving our economy. It emphasizes that " it is particularly important to increase the participation of women, Hispanics, African-Americans, and persons with disabilities " (2). These groups have the largest untapped potential, and jobs in the STEM workforce represent significant opportunities for career advancement. Similar views have been shared by STEM executives in the Fortune 1000 companies, noting significant company benefits in a diverse workshop, " namely increased innovation and the ability to better compete globally " (3). Currently, there is a large disparity in the recruitment, retention, and promotion rates of women and minorities in STEM fields relative to their male and nonminority counterparts , particularly at the advanced-degree level. Academic chemistry departments in the United States exemplify this disparity (4-8). For example, whereas women today earn 33% of the doctoral degrees in chemistry, only 21% of the assistant professors in chemistry at the 50 most research-active universities are women (6). In the overall U.S. chemistry workforce, the profile of specialty by gender indicates relatively low percentages of women working in physical, polymer, organic, and inorganic chemistry, where they comprise 20% or less of the total. Women are better represented in biochemistry and chemical education, where they make up 37% of the workforce, and in analytical chemistry, where they constitute 32%. A recent detailed discussion of factors contributing to the gender disparity in STEM fields is available in the National Academies of Science Study, Beyond Bias and Barriers (7). …